COVID-19: Kurdistan Region reports highest death toll for second time; Erbil province eases restrictions

The autonomous region also announced 26 deaths in the same period, raising the total to 875.

Halgurd Sherwani 2020/08/21 18:40

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish capital of Erbil has eased restrictions that had earlier been imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Health announced on Friday that an all-time high in deaths had been recorded over the previous 24 hours for the second time since the pandemic began.

The ministry said in a statement that health workers had conducted 4,437 tests over the past day, 535 of which returned positive. Of the new cases, 219 were in Erbil province, 174 in Duhok, 107 in Sulaimani, and 17 in Halabja.

The autonomous region also announced 26 deaths in the same period, raising the total to 875. The figure marked the second time that the Kurdistan Region has seen a record number of deaths in a single day.

According to official data, the number of infections since the start of the pandemic has reached 23,709, including 13,650 recoveries. It should be noted, however, that even those who recover and no longer carry the virus may suffer long-term debilitating effects, such as chronic fatigue.

The ministry has conducted 268,796 tests for the virus, since it first appeared in the region.

Erbil province eases restrictions, while imposing mandatory measures to be legally enforced

The Kurdistan Region’s capital city of Erbil announced that while it was easing health restrictions, it was also making certain basic measures mandatory and legally enforceable.

A statement on the new regulations, announced by Erbil Governorate, as it eased the restrictions, explained that face masks are mandatory. Anyone not wearing a face mask in public will be charged 20,000 IQD ($16.)

Face masks should cover the nose, as well as the mouth, as scientists have learned that the nose actually carries the most receptors for the virus.

Traffic between Kurdistan Region’s provinces and other areas of Iraq will be allowed to resume, the statement said—except for travel agencies that bring tourists from other areas of Iraq to the resorts of the Kurdistan Region.

Iraq has failed to control the coronavirus, and it is a major challenge for Kurdish authorities to prevent the Iraqi cases of the virus from further infecting the Kurdistan Region.

Earlier this week, on Wednesday, the World Health Organization, warned of a “major” health crisis in Iraq, as cases of the virus rise dramatically.

In another step to ease the health restrictions, the Erbil governorate stated that mosques will be allowed to hold Friday sermons on the condition that they observe the established precautionary health measures: above all, wear face masks and practice social distancing.

Austrian Airlines earlier announced that it would resume flights to Erbil International Airport (EIA) this week, as air traffic to and from the Kurdistan Region is starting again.

Passenger flights resumed at the beginning of August, after Iraq’s federal government lifted a months-long ban on commercial air travel.

Editing by Laurie Mylroie